Which country has the lowest population density in the world?

• A. Mongolia
• B. Suriname
• C. Finland
• D. Japan

Answer: (A)

Population density measures how many people live in each square kilometer of land. A country with a vast land area but a relatively small population will have a very low density because the people are spread out over a large space.

Mongolia has one of the world’s largest land areas but only about a few million people, which comes out to roughly 2 people per square kilometer. That’s much lower than the other options: Suriname, with a smaller area and more people per unit area; Finland, which is larger than many countries but has a higher population mass; and Japan, where a dense population is concentrated in cities on a much smaller land area, leading to a high density. Because of its combination of huge size and comparatively small population, Mongolia has the lowest population density among these choices.